China says ‘resolutely opposes’ new US law on Tibet

The Chinese national flag is raised during a ceremony marking the 96th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, on 1 July 2017.
File Photo/Reuters/CNS/He Penglei

By Philip Wen | Reuters

BEIJING, China, 21 December 2018

China denounced the United States on Thursday for passing a new law on restive Tibet, saying it was “resolutely opposed” to the US legislation on what China considers an internal affair, and it risked causing “serious harm” to their relations.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed into law the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act.

The law seeks to promote access to Tibet for US diplomats and other officials, journalists and other citizens by denying US entry for Chinese officials deemed responsible for restricting access to Tibet.

Beijing sent troops into remote, mountainous Tibet in 1950 in what it officially terms a peaceful liberation and has ruled there with an iron fist ever since.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily briefing that the law “sent seriously wrong signals to Tibetan separatist elements”, as well as threatening to worsen bilateral ties strained by trade tension and other issues.

“If the United States implements this law, it will cause serious harm to China-US relations and to the cooperation in important areas between the two countries,” Hua said.

The United States should be fully aware of the high sensitivity of the Tibet issue and should stop its interference, otherwise the United States would have to accept responsibility for the consequences, she added, without elaborating.

Rights groups say the situation for ethnic Tibetans inside what China calls the Tibet Autonomous Region remains extremely difficult. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in June conditions were “fast deteriorating” in Tibet.

All foreigners need special permission to enter Tibet, which is generally granted to tourists, who are allowed to go on often tightly monitored tours, but very infrequently to foreign diplomats and journalists.

Hua said Tibet was open to foreign visitors, as shown by the 40,000 American visitors to the region since 2015.

At the same time, she said it was “absolutely necessary and understandable” that the government administered controls on the entry of foreigners given “local geographic and climate reasons”.

Tibetan rights groups have welcomed the US legislation.

The International Campaign for Tibet said the “impactful and innovative” law marked a “new era of American support” and was a challenge to China’s policies in Tibet.

“The US let Beijing know that its officials will face real consequences for discriminating against Americans and Tibetans and has blazed a path for other countries to follow,” the group’s president, Matteo Mecacci, said in a statement.

Next year marks the sensitive 60th anniversary of the flight into exile in India of the Dalai Lama, the highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

China routinely denounces him as a dangerous separatist, although the Dalai Lama says he merely wants genuine autonomy for his homeland.

Why don’t Tibetans visit their home, just like her? I personally visit Lhasa every year, and Chinese consolute in US don’t try to force you to badmouth Dalai lama, or anything. They just give you visa.

That’s another side to this story, anyway.

13.

Gangchenpa, from Phoenix , says:on 29 December 2018 at 8:02 am

The Chinese consulate in USA has given you visa to Tibet and that is good. Lots of Tibetans have been denied visa to Tibet—this is a fact.

Maybe some Tibetans will apply now for visa and you will accompany them?

Tibetans in USA have to consider their own welfare but also the cost to their family and friends in Tibet.

Tsewang p Annabel la; will you accompany us to Chinese embassies or consulates and prove that you are speaking the truth?

12.

Gangchenpa, from Phoenix , says:on 28 December 2018 at 9:15 am

Chinese and Tibetans are not enemies politically: some Tibetans say Chinese make good employees but bad masters— Tibetans object to Chinese bosses disrespecting Tibetans.

On an equal basis Tibetans have no problem with Chinese.

There is no Asian race—this was a western colonial construct.

Outside of Chinese chauvinist rule Tibetans and Chinese can be good friends.

11.

lhamo says:on 25 December 2018 at 1:18 pm

Does anyone believe that China becoming rich and powerful is in our interest?

Yes, we are enemies politically. But racially, we are east-asians, and we form a particular demography in the West.

Don’t you think asian race will have more visibility in society, more familiar faces in hollywood movies, more people like us who are doing proud things in America? Chinese and Tibetans are supposed to be enemies, but they get along very well in Lhasa. Whereas Indians and Tibetans are supposed to be friends, but their relationship is tense in Dharamsala. So the point is – race versus geopolitics.

geopolitics and racial politics are very different like chalk and cheese.

10.

Gangchenpa, from Phoenix , says:on 25 December 2018 at 7:21 am

Anton

You seem to know more than Tibetans on the ground like Machik foundation and the Tibetan students outside TAR

Why help China?

The Japanese empire killed so many Chinese as in Nanking massacre but it is also true that Chinese communist party killed more Chinese than the Japanese. Today China runs concentration camps in east Turkistan and their rule in Tibet cause Tibetans to self immolate because the laws serve the party and not the people.

9.

Anton says:on 24 December 2018 at 1:39 pm

But Kham and Amdo areas are relatively free. Tibetans from those areas living in US visit there as if there is no political problems. In Amdo areas, people are sharing Dalai Lama speeches in wechat and have photos of Dalai Lama and Gyalwang Karmapa and Panchen Lama in their alters.

So clearly there is a parity of freedom accorded between Utsang area and Dokham area.

8.

Khampa Warrior, from USA, says:on 24 December 2018 at 8:35 am

With RATA what U.S. State Department can easily do is immediately stop so-called Tibetan delegations coming to the U.S. for all these years and do China’s propaganda work for Tibet. Of course the U.S. must stop those people working for China’s United Front whose one of main purpose is to destroy Tibetan nation and its people.

Besides U.S. government can expel those Tibetan Shugden followers in the U.S. who get funds from the Chinese Communist government and do the dirty work of creating disharmony amongst Tibetans in the U.S. and malign His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s name.

Then they can shut down all the Confucius institutions in the U.S. universities which are fronts for Commie propaganda works and forbids information on the true status of Tibet, Taiwan, East Turkistan and Manchuria.

The U.S. government can also send back hundreds of thousands of Chinese who are in the U.S. universities and multi national companies doing espionage work for China and stealing trade, scientific and technological secrets.

7.

tsering, from NY, says:on 24 December 2018 at 1:35 pm

The mention about Shugden sect in relation to RATA is unnecessary. Don’t assume all Shugden people are Chinese spies. 99.99% have nothing to do with China or politics at all. I am a Shugden worshipper living in New York, and working as a nurse for the elderly. As a US citizen, worshipping Dorjee Shugden diety is fully within my rights enshrined in the Constitution. I was given refugee status and American citizenship by saying I faced social pressure to abandon the worship in India.

RATA is being used by US to play games with China. But I am sure Tibetans – who are powerless – will pay the final price. China might block Tibet like Bhutan where they charge $300 a day to visit.

6.

Khampa Warrior, from USA, says:on 24 December 2018 at 9:03 pm

I don’t have argument with you if you just worship Shugden privately but I am totally against doing China’s bidding and protest against His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

RATA is not a game as you suggested, it is not against China but getting even with China for not allowing Americans and Tibetan Americans to Tibet for all these years; while thousands of Chinese come to the U.S. without any restrictions. Besides many organizations and thousands of Tibetans and Tibet supporters worked for this for many years. Are these people and the U.S. government and Congress are playing a game? I think it is an attempt to show the world what China is hiding its crimes in Tibet for all these years. You better advocate for the country which gave you asylum than the devil whose intention is to devour all things Tibetans and Tibetan nation.

5.

Gyaltsen Wangchuk, from Delhi, says:on 23 December 2018 at 12:50 pm

Now the US president, Mr Donald Trump, has signed into a law the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act. Thank you! Mr President, you have not disappointed the US Congress for its months of patient labour and several years of hardwork and high hope by all those outside the US Govt who contributed in bringing about this legislative miletone. It is the law now because you Mr President gave the final touch with your golden pen. Congratulations to all for your sincere effort to bell the bully!!
However, it is still too early for a full celebration. It is still to be seen how effectively this law and paper can bite on the ground reality.
The chinese Govt will put up all kinds of strumbling blocks in effective implementation of this law. Therefore, US must remain determined, focused and united as it remarkably did during the process of making this law. If hit, it should mean to hurt!!
The Chinese Govt will completely disregard the existence of this law. Why? Because hiding the Chinese secrets in all areas of Tibet far outways whatever price China has to pay for keeping the lid over Tibet as tightly as before.
For Tibetan American the gate to their homeland will remain tightly closed as before.
The task of pinpointing the Chinese officials who are reponsible for blicking Americans going or coming to Tibet will be as hard as looking for a needle in a haystack. As usual, excuses will be manufactured and lies will be told. The bug is made to move around all the time. If it has to stop it will stop at the desks of ethnic Tibetan Chinese officals so that Chinese Govt can shout to the world outside: “It is the Tibetan themselves who don’t want to welcome lousy Americans to Tibet.”
This law still lacks enough teeth to bite seriously. It needs more teeth. God bless America.

Gyaltsen…

4.

Tibet Bhu says:on 22 December 2018 at 5:38 pm

What’s wrong with coomunist China? They have been claiming that they have made “earth shaking” progress in Tibet. They have ostensibly “liberated” us from a “medieval serfdom” to the “socialist paradise” and yet they don’t want the world to see it!!! What’s going on? If their claims are to be believed, “Lhasa is the most happy city” and yet they would “resolutely oppose” access to western diplomats, journalist and ordinary tourists. This obviously means that either the Chinese are lying through their teeth or that they have something very senister to hide. Otherwise, logic flies in the face of wanting to hide such “glorious achievements” brought to the “serfs” by the “gracious” Chinese communists. Surely, the world would love to see the good work of the CCP to the down trodden “serfs” as the Chinese love to call them. It is baffling that the CCP makes such outlandish claims but it doesn’t want others to see them. Those who are not initiated into the workings of Chinese communists and their double talk, they believe that if they tell a lie of gigantic proportion, people will slowly believe them if it’s told a thousand times. For the last 59 years, many academics, Governments and the Chinese people across the world believed the CCP propaganda. This was aided by the “useful idiots” and the China apologists. The fact is China is hiding the cultural genocide, ethnic cleansing and draconian measures to keep the Tibetans prisoners in their country in order to give a semblance of “stability”. Their lies are now fraying at the edges & the stark reality is appearing as a result of indomitable spirit of the
Tibetan people. The self-immolation of 156 Tibetans to date is a testimony to the grave situation prevailing in Tibet even after six decades of relentless oppression.

3.

Gangchenpa, from Phoenix , says:on 22 December 2018 at 8:57 am

Middle way does not mean the powerful kick down and the victims kiss up.

This act says Chinese will get what they dreamed of and demanded for centuries except they will have to behave as they demanded the European imperial to act towards Chinese.

So is Beijing finally admitting they will treat Tibetans worse than Europe treated China?

The 21st century’ will record Chinese attacking equality and fairness in dealings where Chinese have the upper hand!!!!

2.

T Tsomo says:on 21 December 2018 at 5:55 pm

US has chosen the aggressive, militant option in opening up Tibet. A gentler approach would have been via negotiation in the spirit of Middle Way Approach.

But let’s see if coercion is more successful than methods of peaceful conflict resolution we learn in universities.

Persoanlly, I think it would be more successful in allowing Tibetan Americans into Tibet if USA writes appeal letters and applications to TAR officials. That will stroke their ego, and they may listen.

But with this warning and show of muscle by uncle USA, China responding in a compliant, submissive manner seems far from likely.

1.

Gangchenpa, from Phoenix , says:on 21 December 2018 at 9:32 am

There are so many Chinese tourists almost reminds one of Japanese tourists decades ago.

This is good. Chinese deserve equality.

Will Chinese allow Tibetans the equality and opportunity they dreamed of and fought for?